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Lorna Mills and Sally McKay
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The following is a report from Berlin by my friend and colleague Gordon Hicks.
Guest post #1 from Gordon Hicks:
I was just reading your post about police and ideas of 'inherent friction'. Sunday was May 1st and that means the May Day celebrations/riots in Kreuzberg. Since the studio where I am working is right in the middle of Kreuzberg (at Bethanien) we got to wander around the neighbourhood and take it all in.
The police/people duality seemed much more formalized than I am used to. Both sides seem to understand a lot more about it than they have in my past experience.
Most of the day is a huge street party with music and people hanging out being mellow. The photo below was taken in front of the studio building (Bethanien) in the park. Turkish beat music came from the South, rock music from the North.
There was a phalanx of reds marching up and down the neighbourhood in what I guess is a random pattern. They passed by at least three times, each time the group getting larger. Clusters of riot police would go into quick step manouvres in order to get positioned on this or that street in anticipation of the parade passing. (Parade below)
Cops. All sorts. And I mean all sorts. Good Riot-Cops, Just-Doing-Our-Job Riot Cops, and Big-Mean-Motterfucker-In-Black Riot Cops. ( I chickened out taking photos of the last class when I saw them straight arm a passerby.)
-Guest Poster Gordon Hicks